EULOGY OF SAINT PHILOTHEUS THE OPSICIAN
BOF THE SAME: PANEGYRIC OF ST. PHILOTHEUS THE OPSICIAN
The same one’s commemorative discourse on the life of St. Philotheus the Opsician, spoken in the person of Philotheus the monk, a man of note, who also provided the opportunity for the composition of this treatise.
1. Sense-perceiving bees, when their wings are set free, fly into the meadows, nor do they all busy themselves with all the flowers, nor do they delight in only one choice or excellent flower, greedily gathering honey; rather, they indulge in all the flowers. One chooses what is useful from here, another from there, captivated by the delight of the flowers that are everywhere, yet each gathers a different one, and thus they labor in various ways. By the same token, intellectual bees too—those who truly do not disappoint the spiritual worker of God—collect for themselves from every side the sweetness of spiritual honey. Flying about the sacred meadows, they pluck what is beautiful, not by chance, wandering hither and thither by the impulse of an animal imagination, but by a firm reflection and the proper arrangement, seeking out the flower-gathering. And thus they craft a honey-comb, which God Himself loves, being placed before Him in an apostolic manner, and which pious men also love, approaching it for the recovery of their health, as do kings and rulers, and indeed the poor. These latter, whoever among them possesses only a meager intelligence regarding divine sweetness, are content if they taste but lightly of that honey which is close at hand and of low price, though in itself it is precious; but rulers and kings, to whom other sweetnesses are also present through the learning of many things and the abundance of wisdom—such as that which extensive study stores up for them in profusion—they desire most of all evangelical honey, which is amiable and worthy of the true kingdom, since the health and pleasure it provides fortifies one for obtaining the heavenly kingdom.
2. Therefore, after the likeness of that bee, which gathers this and that flower, and busies itself now with one thing, now another, and thus creates honey for itself and for others—whose peculiar property is, above all, to heal and to provide a painless light, and to nourish with pleasure and without harm—I determined to choose from the spiritual meadow and the myriad flowers therein, among which, as is pleasing to God, we good Christians pass our spring, a plant that blossoms abundantly with good things, if I could find one; and having prepared honey from it, to set it before those who love beauty for the sake of the sweetness that generates strength. I considered it just that I myself should take the part of such a bee, for the sole purpose of laboring for the glory of God, and not at all for my own boasting, which I am not able to attain.
3. And I have a plant from which [I may fashion] divine honey-making...
gather, the great Philotheus, whose name I myself bear—and glorying in this alone (for in deeds who could be comparable to him?)—I have set myself to this oration: Philotheus, confirming his surname by his deeds; Philotheus, who inscribed himself as a faithful servant of God and a good minister, B to whom it befell to be called a friend of God into apostolic fellowship, and who heard for himself from thence: "No longer do I call you a servant, but a friend, inasmuch as you know everything that I do," and who promotes others to my imitation, and like a master unfolds my mysteries; for there is no envy in the one who leads his own mind forward to disclose things by the unfolding of the Scriptures. Philotheus is my wonder and my concern, or rather, the concern of all. For no one, absolutely no one, having heard of his deeds, could fail to wonder at this holy man, if indeed it is right to depict a man heavenly in virtues by means of earthly things.
4. B The Asian region brought forth, as it pleased posterity to call it, the excellent Opsician [land], an immense territory, wealthy and blessed, formerly very celebrated for fame, and even now bearing many generous signs of that pristine excellence, especially the war-like experience of its inhabitants. And so, to show it briefly, the saint draws a certain majesty from the virtue of his fellow countrymen, who appear like lions whenever the dogs—the sons of Hagar—attempt to attack the flocks of God. C But as for the village that brought him forth, one might say that it shows something different from the rest, inasmuch as it is called "Ant" (Myrmex), and someone might perhaps say that by this name an allusion is made to the native myrmecoleons (ant-lions). To me, however, the village of Myrmex, the homeland of the holy man, offers a symbol altogether worthy of veneration. For I seem to hear the wise Solomon crying out to me as well: "Go to such an ant, O sluggard"; D and having investigated the Philotheus there and the golden ant-hill within him, mine the wealth [that is] dear to God, and become a blessed merchant; and having gathered from thence profitable goods, distribute them to the needy, not gathering what is on the path like the ants, but running swiftly to the desirable circuit where are found those who trade for the most important things, so that you too may gain the wealth which the good paterfamilias, God, wishes to be stored up by us, and sell what is appropriate to those who buy.
5. D Such, therefore, was the native land of the most God-beloved Philotheus, calling to mind by its very name his own zeal and study for spiritual works; but as for his father, no one would say that he had disgraced his own offspring. For although it is allowed that good men are sometimes born even from those who are not good, yet in this case the accurate diligence of history would not have overlooked a father who was altogether unlike his excellent son, but he would have been made into an example, and he would have been marked with reproach—what sort of man he was, and what sort of offspring he had produced—a thorn, for example, producing a rose, or henbane an anemone, or a wild beast...
B or anything else of that sort which is the noble opposite of a gentle man, day of night. B The sequence, passing over the father in silence, leaves us to learn about the man from the mother who bore him. For she was beautiful among women, such as Solomon depicts when he sketches the brave woman. To recount her beauty and her skill in deeds, her usefulness to the household, her love for her husband, the sobriety that followed, and all those other things which make a woman orderly, would require a broad discourse, one that would tire the listener’s attention; it is enough for me to summarize everything, saying briefly that she applied herself to all things that are pleasing to God; and she was a diligent worker in such a way, or to say the same thing, a doer of good. Indeed, she even obtained such a name by some divine providence. For her parents named her Theophila, first giving to their daughter a name of their own, fitting for the works to which they themselves were devoted, then afterwards sealing it with the reality that came from her, for they reared the child, training her in a way pleasing to God. The mother, having been raised in such a way, and equipped with virtues as one who is dear to God, and having received the fear of God in her womb, first from the seed of instruction, then also having brought him forth with the labor of her continence, and having given birth, so to speak, to a spirit of salvation—and furthermore, in the course of nature, having conceived a child in her womb who was spiritually purified—she consequently brought forth a son fit for the Holy Spirit to dwell in. C Therefore, she aptly called him Philotheus [God-lover] after herself, beginning from that point to pass on to her son the inheritance that was due from his mother, so that when he had stopped crawling on the ground and began to utter human speech, and had come to know what sort of name he had obtained, he might strip off the natural image, as the name required, and put on a more divine one, fearing lest he corrupt so beautiful and divine a name through the wickedness of his deeds.
D 7. And so he did not fail to make his actions correspond to his name, being eager to belong to God in both respects, and as he was by name, so also by deed, philosophizing about divinity, and thus inscribing himself into the divine image, and being entirely devoted to God; desiring to rise up in imitation of Him and to overcome the lower man and to become heavenly, he indeed achieved this in truth. Through private contemplation he gathered all goodness, like a bee, and by continuous learning and reading he acquired every virtue for himself. For he could not bear not to be frequent in the holy Scriptures and to meditate upon the justifications of the Lord. He would frequently attend the common school of virtue and the customary gatherings, and at those magnificent banquets he would spiritually delight himself to satiety, and once filled, he would himself carry those things to others, as if in the evangelical basket of abundances which God blesses. And it happened to him that day by day he philosophized more, as we have said, in contemplation, and lifted himself up to the Most High and to that blessed activity which, regarding the belly as neglected, tends toward virtue. For always draining the vessel of the body of all superfluous humors, and thus earth-
A bound burdens by fasting, he strove in an angelic manner to fly above the earth, deeming it unworthy of himself to be inscribed as a friend of God, the supreme Father of lights, and yet to be fastened to mother earth, and to choose the lowland and the lowly over that which is ethereal.
8. But if he was thus disdainful of the earth, and bowed his head before nothing that is of it, how could he not also successfully advance through prayer to a similar good? Therefore, he would remain standing for a long time, with hands extended toward Him who was able to draw him upward, after he had walked rightly, stood firmly, and lifted up to Him both his hands and his whole soul together. And so, he was entirely B occupied with the highest lifting up; but if ever, because of the kinship of nature, he turned toward the earth, he did so, yet not so as to render useless the upright posture of man; but rather he preserved even this, and yielded it to mother earth. And he accomplished this by bending his knees unceasingly, and quickly rising again—the former as one earthly and destined to return to the earth, the latter as one who had philosophized himself into being a heavenly plant. And this frequent, prayerful falling and rising accompanied him almost without effort; for through the excessive thinness of the flesh, which temperance had bred, the saint quickly raised himself, so that he arose more easily than he bent his knees, just as a beautiful branch, slightly bent down by a gust of wind, quickly returns to its straight position.
9. What then? By exhausting the flesh and C reducing it, did he make profit therefrom like the miserly, leaving his own natural storehouse empty while filling an external and borrowed one, or perhaps meditate on tearing it down to build a greater? By no means. But the earth and the wealth that comes from it, and other provisions of life blessed by God, made him full of all things that seem desirable to those who live on earth; yet beneficence and human kindness, added to the evangelical command through which a sensible man is invited to set aside the superfluous weight in life and to divide it among the poor—that he might thus become unencumbered for the divine way, and one that is truly straight, even if in some way rugged for those beginning to follow God as He leads toward better things—persuaded the saint D to incline the good from himself toward others, and to transfer the gift he had received from God to those of the same race, and to entrust to such storehouses (I mean the bellies of the poor) whatever things God was profusely providing. And this was like a perennial and ever-flowing fountain. For useful things welled up for the saint from the infinite treasuries of God; but he, having poured a few of them into his own earth, his flesh, as much as was sufficient so that it might be moistened and green grass might shoot up—such as the blessed David also loves, with God having placed him in such a green pasture—sent forth the rest of the fountain to fatten the places beyond, and to relieve the drought which poverty brings to the needy. And these gifts were not done by him hypocritically (unless someone claims that he who went forth to sow his seed openly, in the hope of a greater harvest from God, is sowing hypocritically), neither
with a stingy hand. He did not love even a thin vein of earth or rock, unless it flowed forth as a remedy for thirst. Nor did any harshness appear in these matters. He gave with cheerfulness, such as God loves, for He loves charity and the giver—not simply, but the cheerful one. And he himself was thus a river of charity, applauding with his hand, according to the Psalmist A. For he rejoiced when showing mercy, and he applauded almost with exultation, not appearing to himself as squandering riches and leaving his treasury empty, but as being wealthy and full while he filled the needy, and—to say something greater—as becoming God, if indeed he who is beneficent imitates God as much as is within his power. Therefore, he rejoiced more in giving than anyone else did in receiving; and this was the end of riches for him, to lend to God, who returns the interest a thousandfold.
B 10. And thus he judged it to be the gain of life to die for the brothers, thinking he was setting himself up as a lily of God if he clothed the naked, and meditating on fitting his feet to the way of the Gospel if he adorned the feet of the barefoot; considering it as providing food for himself if he offered useful things to the indigent, and thus fulfilling, according to the Apostle, the command of becoming all things to all men. But since there are many roads to the citadel of virtue, which the great Philotheus was striving for, stretching out his hands toward that—as if toward the mount of God—and invoking help from there, and striving in every way to ascend, (and the solitary and unencumbered life seems to most to surpass all others, by which a man possesses nothing, but considers every other person as himself; and for this reason, withdrawn places are sought and deserted, and many for this reason hide themselves away in caves known to no one, and crawl into holes in the earth, and do other things to avoid marketplaces, and not appear in life, and not live in turmoil, fearing the love of society and intercourse, inasmuch as it cannot lead one to God), he, having examined many other things, approved of this life and embraced it, seeing that ascents were established in his heart, and these indeed toward the highest virtue; yet he did not despise the primitive life, according to which we had the ancient progenitors as our fathers. For he considered that our life was in a way a spectacle, and that those who lead a solitary life are the spectators C at this spectacle, and that it is administered by the highest God as by a trainer and instructor of the contest and arbiter of the prizes, while those who live according to the rule of virtue are the athletes struggling, for whom the contest is not against flesh, but against the spiritual forces of wickedness, whose endeavor it is to rush upon men and overthrow them, and thus to stand against them as enemies at all times. Therefore, he considered it a beautiful thing if someone struggles in private and alone against the race of demons, and conquers, with only the all-sovereign God looking on, toward whom every athlete directs his mind, receiving from there the most honorable cr-
A crown that adorns such victors; but it is necessary, besides this, to engage in the pancratium before many witnesses, and to complete the remaining contests in the spirit. For in this way he who strikes down the adversary before myriad eyes will not be put to shame before B someone living a solitary life, but will, in my opinion, surpass him by a glorious exploit. For the solitary lives, as it were, on a level track, having nothing to obstruct him, and he wrestles, and he runs, and he boxes, and performs the rest of the contest; but the divine athlete who struggles through the middle of the world’s thoroughfares struggles on ground strewn with caltrops, which a disorderly life continually grows and makes sharp, and with myriad stones of stumbling lying beneath. Therefore, having conquered, he possesses even more C of an ornament, both in other respects and because he provokes others to the same zeal, and thus multiplies the champions according to God. But if He who beholds the solitary athlete in secret renders a reward openly, shall He not render a just recompense, beyond any remuneration, to him who struggles openly and thus avoids the "Woe to the one alone" D and does not remain fallen? So too the sun is beautiful (for it is the sun) when it makes its journey under the earth, and no one can cast their eyes upon it; but it is altogether more beautiful when, having risen, it makes the things upon which God has caused it to shine beautiful, even unto the setting. There are also invisible things of God; but to us, His visible—or rather, manifest—things are incomprehensible and worthy of wonder.
11. Having weighed these things and others (for there are truly many such) in his own mind, Philotheus, instructed from boyhood in divine things, indeed desired withdrawal and the ascetic life unknown to the crowd; yet, having weighed in an impartial scale both the monastic and the active life—both according to God, as he himself distinguished them—and having approved of them after this distinction, he chose the mode of life adorned with virtues which the most blessed Job had also preferred, and in which he was as distinguished as perhaps no one B who has ever lived. And indeed, having devised myriad praises for marriage, and wishing, just as his own parents had done, to leave behind a similar good in the world—an honorable succession, a blessed posterity, a blessed seed—he communicates this plan to his parents; and they gladly accede to their son’s proposal, blaming themselves for not having anticipated the design, but rejoicing that the child shows paternal traits even in this. And immediately they are concerned about the marriage mentioned; and since they themselves possess the steer, who is to be under the blessed yoke, they sought the heifer; and having quickly found her, they brought C him and her together, worthy of each other, and through them they established the yoke of God, fit for plowing and sowing and gathering the things necessary for salvation. But God, who had chosen them and had planted plants worthy of paradise in the land of the Opsicians, did not allow them, in their maturity, to fail to bear a firm root, a growing trunk, an abundant germination, and noble fruits in their season; but, fulfilling the will of those who fear Him in this also, He multiplied the house for Philotheus through the children
and through those of them who were able to draw down the blessing of a good father and a mother rejoicing in her children.
B 12. Thenceforth (that nothing of earthly wickedness might be mixed with the goodness of his former virtue, and that worldly toil might not render the wheat of this excellent pair useless through the growth of tares), another method of virtue was eagerly sought after by the saint. For he kept himself in his previous good works, being the same in matters pertaining to virtue, and not changing, and he directed his helpmate toward similar things; and both equally accomplished the work of God. And there was no strife between them, and much less would they provoke one another to wrath. For they pondered the ancient marriages of the men of God, who, having been given to one another by God for assistance, were worthy laborers of His.
C 13. Since these things were thus, and it was necessary for the servant of God to draw nearer to God (for it was appropriate that one who was always contemplating should increase his perception, and instead of a mortal mind be perfected as much as possible, and be raised up to an angelic likeness), he felt a desire to ascend to the height of the priesthood, and thus to join himself to the attendants of God. He began by contriving to be cast before the gates of God, when those things that lead to virtue were being administered; then he sought, according to the Gospel, that he might find, and knocked that it might be opened; and having entered and seen the one he desired, and having approached accordingly, and above all having been united, or even blended, just as with his desire, so also with the illumination coming from thence, he was united or thoroughly commingled with all.
D 14. When, therefore, this good intention also entered his mind, and was manifested, and began to be brought to effect, and the sacred canon required confirmation by testimonies, one might see there not those who were invited to bear witness to every kind of virtue in him, nor those speaking for the sake of favor, or any other inducement, such as are often contrived in such cases by those who do not shine forth from their own inherent virtue, but acquire a spurious light. Therefore, no called and appointed witnesses were brought forward; but as soon as the report went through the inhabitants that the life of Philotheus was being closely examined, whether it shone, and that he was being sought to be brought forward to the priesthood, all, as if speaking with one tongue and inspired by the divine spirit, glorified the man, who was not unknown even to those asking about him. For they fulfilled the commandment of the most upright canon, not being overly anxious to inquire about things that were unknown. Therefore, the most holy anointing was also performed upon him in this way, and having been established as a priest, like an angel of light and a minister of flame, he no longer had anyone who could follow him by imitation; but, striking up a harmony, so to speak, of all the virtues and raising it to the highest attunement, he was conspicuous for an angelic life. More and more, therefore, he devoted himself to sacred sacrifices, and cleaved to divine psalms and hymns, and read other...
matters internally, which, like a good steward, he had reserved for himself, to dispense with a generous hand on the following day to those who desired to enjoy them. A 15. As for his dwelling, it was for the most part the house of God, in which, as if planted, he flourished with fruit. The sun therefore rarely saw him lingering over his former customary tasks, unless perhaps he needed to look into things that were most necessary for human life, such as, for instance, his work on the land. For he loved not only to have hired hands till the earth for every kind of planting, but also to labor at it with his own hands, judging this to be a noble work and becoming to a human being. For of these two, earth and sea, the work of the latter is imported from a later time, and is not even beloved by those who desire to live long and securely; but the earth, being a mother, loves and embraces with affection those who cling to her, and warding off Neptune, protects those who cultivate the land at the proper time. Moreover, agriculture is a very ancient good, an enriching work, a beautiful and secure thing, an art related to mankind.
16. These things, and whatever else is venerable about agriculture, drew Philotheus to it, and also the fact that it cleanses the filth of the body through sweat, and thus renders a man strong and robust for action. He decided, therefore, that this also was better to choose, and when he knew how much sweat a farmer sheds from his body to satisfy his duty—since we are condemned to eat our bread in the sweat of our face—and when he weighed the goods flowing from it against that [effort], and discerned by the scale of reason that they draw [these things] down, he embraces this art as one that would sustain life and mortify the flesh. C Thus, having gained virtue simultaneously with his sustenance, and having obtained the goods of the earth which also redounded to his soul, he distributed the necessary things from the proceeds of his righteous labor to his own household and to the poor. For he never ceased to drain his own reservoir for the sake of those who thirsted for it, caring less for himself and his own than for his brethren in Christ.
17. Yet all these things were for the holy man not only causes for simply being venerable in his life, and shining with good fame, and being conspicuous in words and deeds through which contemplation and action are built up; but there was also a greatest addition from God, such as He knows how to bestow upon those who desire Him above all, repaying the most splendid prize of proved desire. D For besides the fact that he brought help to those in need otherwise through prayers and anointing (with the oil of gladness, as the author of the Psalms says), and the laying on of hands, he also performed great miracles, increasing loaves and other foodstuffs necessary for life from the smallest beginnings to a great number, according to the Lord who most truly promised that those who serve Him shall do the same things that He did, and even greater.
A When the storehouses contained nothing, but were completely empty, for those who labored in poverty, he not only provided grain, but also, like the miracle that occurred in Cana according to the Gospel, he made wine, so that he might strengthen the minds of the needy with bread and gladden them with wine. For it is told and believed that there was a certain time then when men labored under a scarcity of wine. Wherefore they turned to God and prayed that He might succor their need; and God heard them, and gave commandment to His servant Philotheus, and through him brought aid. For he changed into wine a stream that flowed past that calamitous region, having traced the sign of the cross and prayed. If that ancient rock, when struck by a rod, poured forth water, and a certain region wondrously brought forth honey and milk, and finally, the rivers which Scripture mentions were turned into blood: to these transformations must also be added this wine flowing in a stream—not indeed the blood of the grape, as one would say who trod the winepress after the manner of Moses, but a welcome rain from the Most High, destined for those in need. And you must observe now, I pray, with the permission of God, who is the God of miracles, of prodigies, of power, and of truth, that a greater miracle happened here than that which occurred in Cana, just as He Himself promised. For it was not wine-jars, nor casks, nor amphorae, nor flagons, B nor vessels, but an entire stream gushing forth with wine through Philotheus, that flowed for those who were held worthy of such a wonder. And this, indeed, was for the purpose of a feast.
18. Since there is great variety in the miracles performed by the saints of God (for some of them bring health, others provide sustenance, and some provide for other needs that arise, when persons are in need, sometimes taking away, sometimes bringing; and there are some which strike fear and terror, for example that by which the fig tree was cursed, by which the Jewish race and all such nations were warned to revere the power of God, who not only makes alive but is also able to inflict death, not only providing juice useful for health, but also causing to wither), as the occasion required, Philotheus also performed a miracle which happened in such a way as this: namely, a stone which could neither be grasped by the hands, nor carried on the shoulders, nor rolled, but lay there like an inert mass and, as often happens, was an obstacle, by the mere word as if using a lever, he not only shook it up and raised it on high, but also moved it. C And this miracle of his, performed on a stone, was of the kind that God grants to His own disciples, where He promises that they will even move mountains by their command alone and, by the vigor of faith, transport them from one seat to another. Who, therefore, would not admire the great Philotheus in this matter, who was able to command even inanimate things, and whose commands proceeded into deed? This miracle cut off all perversity. No one any longer labored at carving statues, no one joined house to house nor field to field, since Philotheus could so easily tear away and move those most heavy burdens, which were clinging to the earth and, to speak accurately, were immovable. To speak of the whole matter differently: no one [could do] such a thing. D
powerful pursuer would have dared to indulge in sins which would reach the ears of the avenger Philotheus.
19. But as for the other miracles which he performed while still alive, those who are inflamed with a zeal for virtue and are eager to listen and to apply themselves to the salvation of their soul may inquire of the inhabitants of that region; for some things are handed down in historical records, while others are still related today by those who were participants in these miracles, being proclaimed by word of mouth. For us, time lacks the capacity to dwell on them any longer, since we have proposed to manifest the greatness of Philotheus’s way of life from only a very few details. Therefore, having made mention of one or perhaps two of these, and not from the life of the great man himself, but rather from occurrences after his passing—by which his pure soul, a mind in its true essence, immediately stood before the King of all, God—we shall bring our discourse to a close, having taken thought for the symmetry which we proposed.
20. The great eagle Philotheus, the enemy of the demonic winged creatures, had B already flown up toward the Most High, having dealt lethal blows to many heads of such wicked spirits. His most divine part was held by the throne of God, but his earthly and humble part was held by the earth—the earth from which he had been taken—rejoicing at his interment. It did not attempt his destruction or dissolution, but rather kept him and desired to receive him entirely and cherish him forever. And since it could not retain and circumscribe his uncontrollable soul, it was content to hold the body, which did not infect its mother [the earth] with foul-smelling vapors or the pungency of decay, but rather emitted pleasant and sweet odors, as if it were a receptacle for spices and incense; so that, just as his prayers when he was alive had ascended to God like incense, his body likewise might be, as it were, a sacrificial altar—or rather, a censer—filled C with an odor such as God knows how to delight in. This lasted for a whole year; and those who had then committed the saint to the earth were filled with wonder and were regretful that they had not provided a treasury worthy of the treasure, and that they had not provided a vessel appropriate for the ointment, nor an amphora suitable for the venerable oil. And so they resolved to take pains to move the saint to a more suitable place and to construct for him a tomb worthy of him. And as this was being done, and that treasure was being moved to a more splendid treasury, it pleased the King of all Christians, the God of Philotheus, to honor him with a miracle and to display in him a type of the resurrection. And—O ineffable miracle, and one D to which hardly any other can be compared!—the holy ministers of the transfer were gently placing their hands underneath, and were touching the holy body with caution; and taking him up with great care, they were raising him up diligently, fearing lest any part of his holy frame, if broken, should perish. But he, in order to show that he had not perished but lived in God, and that, being alive, he could not suffer fracture, stretched out both his hands as if he were alive, and then bent them, shaping them so as to embrace, and let them fall upon the shoulders of those two holy priests who were burying him,